Blair Walsh had perhaps the finest rookie season by a kicker in NFL history. He made 35 of 38 field-goal attempts. His NFL-record 10 field goals of 50 yards or longer came without a miss. His 141 points ranked second by a rookie in NFL history. And he also crushed the team record for touchbacks with 53. Can he keep that going with a new holder [Locke] and three more outdoor games [seven] than a year ago?

Walsh: “There’s always room for improvement. We’ve gone through every kick, every kickoff from last year. There are things I can do to improve. It’s really a never-ending process to maintain the kind of consistency you need at this level. The sophomore slump is a good thing to acknowledge and understand, but yeah, you don’t want to dwell on it.”

Blair Walsh is a prime example of the evolution of a field-goal kicker. I hate to admit it, but I can (vaguely) remember when guys kicked the ball straight on -- Don Chandler, Jim Bakken, Lou Groza. Then kickers went soccer-style, and there were a bunch of foreign fellows with limited English traipsing around the field -- Garo Yepremian, Rafael Septien, Benny Ricardo. There was a "Saturday Night Live" comedy sketch: "I keek de boll."

A generation ago, big-time field-goal kickers rarely even attempted 50-yarders. Kevin Butler made 16 from that distance over a 13-year career. Tony Franklin made 10 over a decade-long career. Walsh made 10 in his rookie season. Let's say he finished second to Adrian Peterson in the team MVP race.

Walsh: "It feels a little bit different because you're not meeting everybody, meeting coaches, for the first time. People aren't looking at you going, 'You're unproven.' You've got to continue to prove yourself, but at the same time, it's a little bit different. Throughout the year there were little moments here and there where you're like, 'Wow, I can't believe that this is where I'm at right now.' This time around it feels more normal, more natural."

Walsh made a 54-yard field goal on the opening drive to set a team record for most career 50-plus-yard field goals. He is now 12-for-12 on field goals of at least 50 yards. He had shared the record with Ryan Longwell, who made 11 from that distance in his six seasons with the team.

Walsh made a 54-yard field goal on the opening drive to set a team record for most career 50-plus-yard field goals. He is now 12-for-12 on field goals of at least 50 yards. He had shared the record with Ryan Longwell, who made 11 from that distance in his six seasons with the team.